A study of e-learning readiness of Thailand's higher education comparing to the United States of America (USA)'s case

Abstract

Since 1990, the Thai government has attempted to encourage universities to incorporate e-learning systems intheir curriculum. However, it seems that the number of completed e-learning courses is growing quite slowly, largelydue to the fact that many private and public universities in Thailand have no e-learning adoption readiness, such as policy, regulation, and technology. The necessary components to make e-learning accessible to learners such as connectivity, capability, contents and culture need to be well clarified and prepared. To shorten the path to successfule-learning adoption in Thailand, this paper reviewskey success factors in e-learning in the United States of America (USA) and presents the results of the study compared to the Thailand's higher education. The results include the recommendations for Thailand e-learning meand most common success factors such as support resources dedicated to the online programs, creation of a clear, well-defined project plan, careful selection of the initial program offerings, and teacher training sessions to help developing effective teaching styles.